A Paradise, California police officer who responded to the scene of a drunk driving crash will not face charges, Action News Now reports, after shooting the man behind the wheel as he tried to pull himself from the flipped vehicle.

Correction: This post originally stated that Thomas was shot multiple times, when in fact he was only shot once.

The District Attorney has decided the Thanksgiving shooting, vividly captured in this newly release footage, was an “accidental shooting,” despite showing what very clearly appears to be the officer involved raising his weapon, firing, and then calmly holstering it.

According to Action News Now, Thomas was hit in the neck and may be permanently paralyzed:

Thomas was shot in the C7 and T1 vertebrae and could be paralyzed for the rest of his life. He remains in stable condition at Enloe Medical Center.

He will also face vehicular manslaughter charges for the crash, which killed his wife.


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